This invention generally relates to the field of food product preparation and, more particularly, to an apparatus for cold-holding food products.
In the restaurant industry it is known to pre-prepare food products to a near-completed stage in anticipation of times of peak customer demand. In this manner, when the time of peak customer demand arises, minimal time is need to complete the preparation of the food product so as to timely deliver the finished food product to the customer. For example, in the pizza industry, it is known to pre-prepare the pizza food product by cold-storing dough pieces that are sauced or sauced and pre-topped at a time before anticipated times of peak customer demand. Thus, when the food product is needed to meet customer demand, the pre-prepared pizza food product need only be finished (if necessary) and cooked before being delivered to the customer.
While this method of pre-preparing food product is effective in minimizing customer wait times for finished food products, currently known systems and methods for cold-holding pre-prepared food products have the disadvantage of only providing a limited time period during which the pre-prepared food product can be held. Cold-holding the food product beyond this time period will negatively effect the overall quality of the food product. In the case of cold-holding pre-prepared pizza food product, currently known systems only provide for a cold-holding time period of approximately 20 minutes before cold-proofed pizza dough starts to expand beyond the pan. When this occurs, baking the pizza in an oven causes the dough to brown disproportionately resulting in a damaged, finished food product which is not suitable for delivery to the customer.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved system for cold-holding pre-prepared food products which extends the time during which the pre-prepared food products can be held while allowing the pre-prepared food products to maintain their quality.
In accordance with this need, the present invention is realized in an apparatus for cold-holding food product which includes a cabinet in which is carried a refrigeration unit and a plurality of refrigerated shelves. The plurality of refrigerated shelves are adapted to frost under the control of the refrigeration unit to thereby maintain the quality of food product held on the shelves. To allow for the drainage of any melting frost, the plurality of shelves may be angled. To prevent the removal of frost with the unloading of food products from the shelves, wire racks may be used to elevate the food product above the frosted shelve surfaces.